The Third Eye

Island House Recordings’ 18th release, a new solo LP from Ben Felton, A Lot, arrived on July 23rd. Like other Island House releases, Felton’s new work exists in the same ethereal spaces of minimalist electronic and psychedelic music as Nick Millevoi’s recent Moon Pulses. A Lot is a record with stunning grace and depth that takes you on a gentle journey through Felton’s dreamscapes.

Felton is from New York but he’s lived for a while in Carrboro, North Carolina, home of the legendary rock club Cat’s Cradle. On A Lot, Felton uses thin layers of synths, electric and acoustic guitars, drum machines, and field recordings to create a cinematic collection of ten tracks that mash together urban and rural environments and other ideas floating in Ben’s consciousness.

Ben began making the record when he was expecting his first child and finished it before her birth. The liner notes tell us that while A Lot isn’t necessarily about becoming a father, the experience of waiting for a newborn permeates the work. Ironically, it took him nine months to make the LP.

A Lot begins with the sound of a lapping stream on “I Can See (Finally),” which is an interesting way of bringing us into the world he has created. When the sound of the stream drifts away, we’re left with Felton’s gentle, expressive acoustic guitar, a sound that feels rustic and pulled out of the American South.

“I Can See” transitions into the murky waters of “A Foghorn or a Loudspeaker,” where the mood tones are darker. This song suggests that we’re traveling on the river at night through a deep mist and seeing things that aren’t quite real, though it all feels perfectly natural.

“What You Need” is another shift in Felton’s mood. It features a bouncy synth (or drum machine) and pushes us into an imagined future as Ben’s electric guitar expresses harsh noise and takes us deeper into the dream. 

“Keeping The Sun Out of Our Eyes” is primarily the creeping strum of electric guitar, followed by the electronic haze of “Take Us Home.” “Take Us Home” is the most minimalist track thus far; it’s an ambient drone with oh-so-subtle shifts in tone and movement that feel almost like white noise.

“This Is How You Do It, This Is How It’s Done” features a rapid-fire drum machine bounce accompanied by an ominous drone. Felton’s soundscapes are incredibly surreal, and this is one example.

“The Fifth Day” is unlike much of what has come before. There are many textures, with the repetitive synth refrain giving a trance-like quality. This track gives me an image of the ritual and the sacred. “To Live In The Moment” is minimalist ambient in the vein of Brian Eno, which offers a nice, calming change of pace on a record that so far pushes us into unknown territories.

“Ends That Are Beginnings, Beginnings That Are Ends” sees Felton combine a collage of guitar sounds that makes it sound almost like swaying wind chimes. It’s an interesting sonic effect that I highly suggest you experience to catch my drift.

“We Will Go Our Ways” closes A Lot with a buzzing electronica that gives way to gentle guitar meanderings. The lapping stream field recording returns near the end, bringing us full circle and possibly back out of the dream world.

Felton has created a moving instrumental record in A Lot that raised more questions than gave me answers. Knowing a bit of the back story of the new music, I wondered if Ben was saying goodbye to his old self while recording and welcoming a new phase of his life as a father. That’s the impression I got, especially with track titles like “Ends That Are Beginnings, Beginnings That Are Ends” and “We Will Go Our Ways.”

You can’t go wrong with an Island House release, and Ben Felton’s new solo work further proves that. If you’re looking for fascinating and, dare I say, philosophical and thought-provoking instrumental psychedelia, A Lot is for you.

Check out A Lot by Ben Felton on Bandcamp here.

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